Home: Issue 4 2008 › Driving force
Driving force
28/08/2008 | Channel: Automotive, Manufacturing
Nifco UK Ltd recently celebrated winning the highly coveted ‘Processor of the Year’ award at the Plastics Industry Awards
Nifco UK designs and manufactures functional plastic parts for the automotive industry, and is the UK subsidiary of a Japanese-owned company. It counts Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Honda among its key customers and in just five years managing director Mike Matthews has turned a oncestruggling business into a revered leader in the field of injection-moulded plastic products, particularly for the automotive industry.
“The fact that we’ve transformed a company that was seriously underperforming and at risk of losing customers – or even surviving – in 2003, to being awarded some of the highest accolades in the UK’s plastic industry is overwhelming,” says Mike. “Winning ‘Processor for the Year’ is essentially like being named company of the year.”
Nifco’s journey began in 2003 when the company made substantial losses that resulted in major changes to the business. Nifco had lost the confidence of its Japanese, US and European customers due to poor quality and delivery performance, with sales severely affected. It became apparent that in order to raise sales levels the organisation had to change, so with the support of the new management team and parent company support team, Nifco implemented a business revival plan.
In early 2004, Mike recognised the need to re-engage the workforce and revive customer confidence and he contacted One North East who in turn introduced Nifco to several entities, such as North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), Tees Valley Regeneration including Business Link, Stockton Borough Council and the local constabulary – all of which played an early part in Nifco’s recovery. “Regarding investment, One North East has been very understanding and supportive,” says Mike.
NEPA provided productivity training and 5s training (standardised housekeeping), co-ordinated by ASSA, which was the grass-roots of Nifco’s revival. At the same time, the business embarked on health and safety training, carried out by British company Century21. Productivity training continued with many interventions over a period of three years. NEPA supported Nifco in the provision of seminars and conferences, such as the seminar held on the Wynyard industrial estate entitled ‘Lessons from Japan’ and carried a strong message on the importance of communication, kaizen and quality circles. All three areas have been strongly embraced as the major pillars of Nifco’s resurgence. Leadership development, supported by Partners In Management and KB Associates, was also a key feature to the turnaround of the business.
Nifco established an alliance with North East Polymer Centre, to provide bespoke training courses for technical staff, business improvement techniques and training facilities. Nifco also implemented major organisational changes, based on a matrix management concept, which led to the discovery of a whole new layer of talent within the business that significantly accelerated the company’s progress.
As Nifco achieved more highly, it became challenging to better the company so it adapted by placing emphasis on detailed business planning and information systems
management, which was underpinned by the further development of Nifco’s workforce pertaining to accreditation of the Investors In People standard. These activities are still delivering results that have contributed towards Nifco second-year nomination as finalists in the Plastic Industry Awards and winning the highly coveted titles of ‘Processor of the Year’ 2008 and ‘Best Training & Development Programme’ 2007 and 2008.
Major accomplishment
Commenting on Nifco’s success, Frances Hoy, Nifco’s HR manager says: “We got re-certified in 2007 for TS16949 and have the ISO14001 environmental award, Ford QI, and the 2007 3* award from the British Safety Council for health and safety, as well as the British Safety Council’s international award in 2008. We’re especially pleased about the Investors in People recognition.”
Mike adds: “Investors in People is a very significant award as it’s difficult to achieve in manufacturing and the fact that we did so on first-time application is a major accomplishment.”
Despite its achievements, Mike sees opportunities for continuous improvement, and everything Nifco strives for is underpinned by the policy of ‘customer first’ and ‘zero defects’, manufacturing in a safe environment by competent staff at all levels, and providing solid shareholder value. “This approach sets us apart in the marketplace. We won ‘Processor of the Year’ for our clearly defined strategy for business improvement and our detailed approach to planning, based on the philosophy of continuous improvement. We’re facing tough industry conditions and responding to that with continuous improvement applied to every element of the business. Our five-year plan sees us growing at a pace of ten per cent per annum. We’ll achieve this aim through our strong relationships with customers built on zero defects and our target of delivering year-on-year cost improvement.”
Nifco’s current success and its numerous awards are testament to the fact that manufacturing businesses can be successful in the North East of the UK, and on both a national and international platform. “The ultimate aim is to be the number one manufacturer of functional plastic components in Europe,” concludes Mike. “We’re in a constant process of benchmarking in-house companies and industry-best companies, so we’re resetting our business plan every year to take us towards a level of excellence in all areas.”
“The fact that we’ve transformed a company that was seriously underperforming and at risk of losing customers – or even surviving – in 2003, to being awarded some of the highest accolades in the UK’s plastic industry is overwhelming,” says Mike. “Winning ‘Processor for the Year’ is essentially like being named company of the year.”
Nifco’s journey began in 2003 when the company made substantial losses that resulted in major changes to the business. Nifco had lost the confidence of its Japanese, US and European customers due to poor quality and delivery performance, with sales severely affected. It became apparent that in order to raise sales levels the organisation had to change, so with the support of the new management team and parent company support team, Nifco implemented a business revival plan.
In early 2004, Mike recognised the need to re-engage the workforce and revive customer confidence and he contacted One North East who in turn introduced Nifco to several entities, such as North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), Tees Valley Regeneration including Business Link, Stockton Borough Council and the local constabulary – all of which played an early part in Nifco’s recovery. “Regarding investment, One North East has been very understanding and supportive,” says Mike.
NEPA provided productivity training and 5s training (standardised housekeeping), co-ordinated by ASSA, which was the grass-roots of Nifco’s revival. At the same time, the business embarked on health and safety training, carried out by British company Century21. Productivity training continued with many interventions over a period of three years. NEPA supported Nifco in the provision of seminars and conferences, such as the seminar held on the Wynyard industrial estate entitled ‘Lessons from Japan’ and carried a strong message on the importance of communication, kaizen and quality circles. All three areas have been strongly embraced as the major pillars of Nifco’s resurgence. Leadership development, supported by Partners In Management and KB Associates, was also a key feature to the turnaround of the business.
Nifco established an alliance with North East Polymer Centre, to provide bespoke training courses for technical staff, business improvement techniques and training facilities. Nifco also implemented major organisational changes, based on a matrix management concept, which led to the discovery of a whole new layer of talent within the business that significantly accelerated the company’s progress.
As Nifco achieved more highly, it became challenging to better the company so it adapted by placing emphasis on detailed business planning and information systems
management, which was underpinned by the further development of Nifco’s workforce pertaining to accreditation of the Investors In People standard. These activities are still delivering results that have contributed towards Nifco second-year nomination as finalists in the Plastic Industry Awards and winning the highly coveted titles of ‘Processor of the Year’ 2008 and ‘Best Training & Development Programme’ 2007 and 2008.
Major accomplishment
Commenting on Nifco’s success, Frances Hoy, Nifco’s HR manager says: “We got re-certified in 2007 for TS16949 and have the ISO14001 environmental award, Ford QI, and the 2007 3* award from the British Safety Council for health and safety, as well as the British Safety Council’s international award in 2008. We’re especially pleased about the Investors in People recognition.”
Mike adds: “Investors in People is a very significant award as it’s difficult to achieve in manufacturing and the fact that we did so on first-time application is a major accomplishment.”
Despite its achievements, Mike sees opportunities for continuous improvement, and everything Nifco strives for is underpinned by the policy of ‘customer first’ and ‘zero defects’, manufacturing in a safe environment by competent staff at all levels, and providing solid shareholder value. “This approach sets us apart in the marketplace. We won ‘Processor of the Year’ for our clearly defined strategy for business improvement and our detailed approach to planning, based on the philosophy of continuous improvement. We’re facing tough industry conditions and responding to that with continuous improvement applied to every element of the business. Our five-year plan sees us growing at a pace of ten per cent per annum. We’ll achieve this aim through our strong relationships with customers built on zero defects and our target of delivering year-on-year cost improvement.”
Nifco’s current success and its numerous awards are testament to the fact that manufacturing businesses can be successful in the North East of the UK, and on both a national and international platform. “The ultimate aim is to be the number one manufacturer of functional plastic components in Europe,” concludes Mike. “We’re in a constant process of benchmarking in-house companies and industry-best companies, so we’re resetting our business plan every year to take us towards a level of excellence in all areas.”
